Branding & Identity Design

Brand & Identity Design

– Marketing Strategy, Corporate Identity, & Graphic Design

Whether you are a long standing institution, or a fresh, new startup, new branding can be an exciting and effective opportunity for your business. Author Jay Baer says it best, “Branding is the art of aligning what you want people to think about your company with what people actually do think about your company.”

Before we build your brand, we spend a considerable amount of time researching you, your customers, and your competition. The insights gained in this initial analysis will serve as the foundation for the entire branding process. We take into account everything we have learned from the initial phases of the process to create a visual language that not only looks great, but conveys the proper message to the proper audience.

We are laser-focused on helping you to clarify and simplify your brand message in order to communicate more authentically and eloquently with your audience.

Digital

Our Branding Process

"Vision without execution is just hallucination." – Henry Ford

At 502, we love big dreams and big ideas. We know what it's like to be super driven. Over the past few years, we've evolved from a scrappy start up to a full-fledged professional advertising agency. Innovation may be the hallmark of our agency, but it's our repeatable processes that have allowed us to mature and grow.

Our Branding Process gives us immeasurable insight into you and more importantly, your clientele. By remaining focused on your customer's desires, we can create a visual language that communicates so much more than your company name.

1. Research

2. Clarifying Strategy

3. Designing Your Identity

4. Creating Touchpoints

5. Brand Launch & Continued Development

1. Research

1. Research

Before we build your brand, we want to get to know you, your customers, and your competition. The knowledge gained in this initial step will serve as the foundation for the entire process.

During an in-person discovery session, we will outline the unique aspects of your business. You are the expert in your business and process, and 502 will deeply research your industry to analyze existing trends and sources. Together, we will infuse the insights we uncover into your visual brand.

Depending on your needs, we may organize a shadow day to get a true to life feel of your organization while taking plenty of notes and photos. Other research methods include: customer surveys, observation, and interviews; employee and shareholder interviews; and more.

All of our research is packaged into an easy to read Brand Audit Guide that you can save and reference.

2. Clarifying Strategy

2. Clarifying Strategy

After all of our research from phase one is completed, we will synthesize and gather our learnings and create easy-to-understand documents to make sure we are on the right track before we move on to crafting your brand and positioning.

The Brand Audit report outlines our findings about your business, including some basic information on customers and competitors.

While some of the information in the audit may seem like old news to you and your employees, it helps us ensure that we have a solid understanding of your business. It also confirms that we are on the same page with expectations. Like your waiter repeating your order back to you at a restaurant, the Brand Audit lets you know your directive is correct.

Most importantly, during this step we will work towards finding your ideal positioning. By taking a deep-dive into your industry and local competitive environment, we will find your Unique Selling Proposition, the thing that makes you different from everyone else in your field.

3. Designing Your Identity

3. Designing Your Identity

After we have built a solid foundation, it’s time for the fun part. During this step, we create a visual language that not only looks great, but conveys the right message about your organization to your audience.

The human brain actually has a method for interpreting logos. The first thing that is noticed is shape, and then immediately after, color. Because these two items are crucial to any identity system, logo design guidelines and color palette are included with all of our branding services. You will receive a Brand Guide outlining the proper way to display and position your new visual identity in order to create consistency for better customer recall.

Your new logo will be provided in multiple file types for you to use in any situation.

Another staple of visual identity is typography. We will outline where and how to use typography to elevate your brand.

Finally, a voice guide will provide recommendations on how to resonate with your audience. This will help standardize the language that both your employees and advertising use, making your message consistent, compelling, and clear.

If necessary, we can also create visuals for any sub-brands and major programs within your company in a manner consistent with your primary visual language.

4. Creating Touchpoints

4. Creating Touchpoints

Now that you have a visual brand, it is time to put it to use! In this phase, we will create chosen deliverables to help your new brand take hold.

We’ll definitely cover the basics: business card, letterhead, and envelope design. If you want a little advertising power, we can include print or digital ad templates in various sizes and mediums so you can spread the word. What better way to clue current clients and prospects into your new identity than a redesigned HTML email signature that can be customized across your organization?

True branding goes much deeper than just a logo. We want to make sure that anything your customer comes in contact with will have a consistent, cohesive, and familiar feel.

We will round out your visual language based on your needs – anything from custom icons to animated logos. We can design a custom retail and in-store experience. This includes custom signage solutions, custom wall coverings, unique display ads, in-store advertising, and so much more! We create everything based on your brand standards and will oversee the professional production of it all.

5. Brand Launch & Continued Development

5. Launch & Continued Development

Your new brand is all ready to go. Whether you opted for just a logo, or a complete brand experience, you’re likely a little excited to show it off. 502 will guide you through the process of launching your brand to maximize your investment.

To encourage positive press and recognition, we craft a press release to share with your local and industry-related publications.

Finally, we provide additional support, creating and executing a full brand launch strategy across social and digital media channels, as well as in-person customer touchpoints.